1 The introduction of The New Tax System (TNTS) has had a number of significant implications for ABS business statistics. These were initially discussed in Information Paper: ABS Statistics And The New Tax System (cat. no. 1358.0) which was released on 26 April 2000. The paper foreshadowed changes in the statistical infrastructure used by the ABS to support compilation of ABS economic series.

2 Information Paper: Improvements in ABS Economic Statistics [Arising from The New Tax System] (cat. no. 1372.0) released on 6 May 2002 provided further information about these changes and their treatment in statistical series.

3 Most of these changes directly affected the ABS Business Register (ABSBR), which contains a list of businesses from which samples are selected to collect data for ABS economic series (including the annual Economic Activity Survey (EAS) component of the 'EASTAX' collection). The series have been affected by the changes in the following ways:

the population of businesses that are considered to be employing based on taxation information has changed as a result of TNTS

the statistical units model, that is, the way in which business structures are represented on the ABSBR, is being more closely aligned with taxation reporting requirements

the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), which maintains the Australian Business Register (ABR) used as a source for ABSBR ABN units, has classified some businesses differently from the ABS, for example to different industries

different measures of business size are available.

4 In addition, the ABS made further changes, notably, expanding the ABSBR to encompass all units on the ABR, including non-employers. In most cases, ABN units / TAUs concorded with the management units used for 2000-01.

5 For more information about the ABSBR, see Explanatory Notes paragraphs 5-10.

COLLECTION CHANGES

6 Prior to 2001-02, the EASTAX data in this publication were sourced from two business populations:

Other units, recorded on the ATO maintained ABR, were used to complement the management unit data, via ATO business income tax (BIT) data. Users should note that ATO BIT data for 2000-01 included data for non-employing businesses (unlike other industry collections which did not, at that time, use ATO BIT data). However, as the ABSBR did not then include ABNs, the matching process of ABSBR records to BIT file data was more difficult than that for 2001-02, when ABSBR records first included ABNs.

7 For 2001-02 and later years, the population was derived solely from the newly expanded ABSBR. Businesses were allocated to one of two sub-populations, comprising respectively ABN units and TAUs (type of activity units). These units replaced the management unit. For unit definitions, see Explanatory Notes paragraphs 7-10.

8 For details of the methodology employed to produce the 2001-02 and 2002-03 estimates in this publication, see Technical Note 1. For details of the methodology employed to produce the 2000-01 EASTAX estimates, see Technical Note 1 in the previous (2000-01) issue of this publication.

BRIDGING ABN UNITS / TAUs AND EASTAX UNITS

9 The 2000-01 EASTAX 'old basis' data, shown in table 1.1 of this publication, reflect the statistical infrastructure then applying. These data have then been adjusted to incorporate differences imputed from analysis of the 2001-02 and 2002-03 ABN unit / TAU data. These include the impact of splitting (see Explanatory Notes paragraphs 15 and 16), differences between industry codes allocated (to some businesses) by the ATO and those assigned by the ABS, and changes in the use of ATO BIT data (see Technical Note 1). There has also been a change in the scope of the EAS collection commencing with the 2000-01 'new basis' estimates (see Explanatory Notes paragraph 12).

10 The following two tables show 2000-01 industry division estimates based on, respectively, EASTAX units and ABN units / TAUs (which reflect all of the changes described in the previous paragraph) for the data items: total income, total expenses, operating profit before tax (OPBT) and industry value added, where available on both bases. The third table shows the percentage difference between these estimates.

EASTAX (MU AND BIT DATA) estimates(a), 2000-01

Total income

Total expenses

Operating profit before tax

Industry value added

Industry division(b)

$m

$m

$m

$m

Mining

58,804.4

42,629.0

16,175.4

34,829.6

Manufacturing

261,464.0

245,182.6

16,281.3

73,464.3

Electricity, gas and water supply

37,633.0

33,032.8

4,600.2

14,490.1

Construction

97,396.8

89,647.2

7,749.6

29,804.9

Wholesale trade

256,376.2

249,799.9

6,576.3

35,098.3

Retail trade

229,726.5

224,108.2

5,618.3

39,766.1

Accommodation, cafes and restaurants

36,886.3

35,041.4

1,844.9

14,807.7

Transport and storage

72,621.7

69,573.4

3,048.3

27,637.6

Communication services

38,025.1

31,746.2

6,278.9

18,759.5

Property and business services

152,271.2

136,183.9

16,087.4

68,953.2

Cultural and recreational services

28,383.4

25,155.0

3,228.4

11,066.3

(a) See Appendix 1 paragraph 9.

(b) Excludes industry divisions for which data are not available as both EASTAX and ABN unit / TAU estimates.

ABN UNIT / TAU ESTIMATES(a), 2000-01

Total income

Total expenses

Operating profit before tax

Industry value added

Industry division(b)

$m

$m

$m

$m

Mining

59,535.5

44,939.9

14,330.9

32,673.7

Manufacturing

281,585.8

265,395.9

18,989.9

79,312.7

Electricity, gas and water supply

41,097.6

35,937.2

5,024.8

16,153.0

Construction

102,373.7

94,089.7

8,479.0

28,284.2

Wholesale trade

264,509.3

259,637.3

6,446.1

31,458.9

Retail trade

230,809.8

226,135.4

5,889.6

37,204.6

Accommodation, cafes and restaurants

36,448.5

35,248.2

1,195.4

13,201.8

Transport and storage

75,393.3

71,591.3

3,851.8

26,776.4

Communication services

36,619.9

30,165.8

6,559.2

18,524.0

Property and business services

175,054.3

153,781.1

19,752.7

75,211.9

Cultural and recreational services

31,736.1

29,509.1

2,165.7

8,995.0

(a) See Appendix 1 paragraph 9. Relative standard errors are not available for these data.

(b) Excludes industry divisions for which data are not available as both EASTAX and ABN unit / TAU estimates.

PERCENTAGE DIFFERENCE(a)

Difference between ABN unit / TAU
and EASTAX estimates of

Total
income

Total
expenses

Operating
profit before tax

Industry
value added

Industry division(b)

%

%

%

%

Mining

1.2

5.4

-11.4

-6.2

Manufacturing

7.7

8.2

16.6

8.0

Electricity, gas and water supply

9.2

8.8

9.2

11.5

Construction

5.1

5.0

9.4

-5.1

Wholesale trade

3.2

3.9

-2.0

-10.4

Retail trade

0.5

0.9

4.8

-6.4

Accommodation, cafes and restaurants

-1.2

0.6

-35.2

-10.8

Transport and storage

3.8

2.9

26.4

-3.1

Communication services

-3.7

-5.0

4.5

-1.3

Property and business services

15.0

12.9

22.8

9.1

Cultural and recreational services

11.8

17.3

-32.9

-18.7

(a) See Appendix 1 paragraph 9. Relative standard errors are not available for these data.

(b) Excludes industry divisions for which data are not available as both EASTAX and ABN unit / TAU estimates.

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